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Show at library stresses head safety
FEA puppet show 6 0407
Betsy Stow, area coordinator for the Hinesville public library branch, looks on while children’s librarian Jessica Garner entertains her young audience as a giraffe, teaching kids about brain safety. - photo by Photo provided.

About a dozen attentive youngsters learned how to keep their noggins intact at the Hinesville branch of the Live Oak Public Libraries on Tuesday.  
Area coordinator Betsy Stow and children’s librarian Jessica Garner delivered the message of brain safety through a Brainminder Buddies Puppet Show, reminding children how to be safe when riding bikes, crossing the street, playing outside and riding in cars.
Falls are a leading cause of head injuries, according to the Brain Injury Association of America, and newborns to 4-year-olds are one of the two age groups at highest risk for suffering a head injury.
Sports helmets, when worn correctly, are reported to be 85 percent effective in preventing brain injuries. When riding in vehicles, children under age 12 should be in the back seat, either in car or booster seats, or with seat belts once they reach 4’ 9” in height.

Garner said puppet shows like this one are designed to be incorporated into the library’s  activities for children ages 3 and up. Brainminder Buddies is a show she’s shared with kids before, through her involvement in another organization dedicated to brain health and safety in kids and adults, the Pilot Club.
“This is the show we use with the Pilot Club in Statesboro,” she said. “I like to do it at the beginning of the summer because it’s a good way to teach them how to take care of their brains while playing.”
Though she’s been the children’s librarian only since January, Garner hopes to add more puppet shows to the lineup of children’s activities as the year progresses. “We’ll definitely be doing one this summer,” she said.

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